High Wind — Central Piscataquis, Maine

2024-10-12 · Central Piscataquis, Maine

Event narrative

Mixing with a low level jet in advance of a cold front and in the wake of the front produced gusty winds. The wind gusts generally ranged from 40 to 50 mph...with isolated gusts up to 60 mph. With many trees still mostly leafed...the strong winds were able to topple trees and snap branches which brought down power lines. This led to numerous power outages.

Wider weather episode

A strong low level jet crossed the region in advance of a cold front during the morning of the 12th. Strong winds from the low level jet aloft were mixed to the surface. Mixing in the wake of the cold front then supported strong gusty winds persisting into the afternoon. Wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph were common across all of northern and eastern Maine...with some gusts of 50 to 60 mph. With many trees still mostly leafed...the strong winds were able to topple trees and snap branches. The fallen trees and branches brought down power lines leading to power outages. Numerous downed trees and power lines were reported across the region. The most extensive impacts occurred across portions of Piscataquis...Penobscot and Hancock counties. Power outages peaked in the tens of thousands during the afternoon of the 12th. Some areas did not have power restored until the 13th. Some roads were closed and blocked due to fallen trees and downed power lines. Lesser impacts occurred across eastern portions of the region though isolated to scattered power outages did occur.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1216565. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.